Chinese auto brand builds trust

24 January 2014

SHANGHAI: Qoros is leading the way in changing perceptions of Chinese car brands at home and abroad and building trust among consumers, according to the agency tasked with bringing the new marque to market.

Andy Edwards, BBH China's Head of Planning, explained that domestic auto brands had struggled to convince local consumers about their quality credentials. But Qoros, a joint venture between Chery Automobile and Israel Corporation, was aiming to transform their views by simply being better across the board.

Part of the process was the need to overcome consumer scepticism towards a new and relatively expensive vehicle in an already overcrowded market. “They [consumers] need to trust the brand and they need to feel affinity towards the brand,” said Edwards.

One way they had approached this was through a TV commercial which depicted the company destroying its first attempt at designing a car for this market.

“Only a company with a unique attitude towards quality would do that,” Edwards suggested, as he noted the value of film in delivering emotions and so helping build trust.

He further noted that, in the Chinese market, building credibility meant persuading not only potential buyers but their friends and family and that meant the use of television to achieve scale and impact.

But having done that, word of mouth then becomes important. “As brand awareness and talk about the brand increases, we will be using all the channels and tactics available to us,” Edwards stated.

He argued that, in effect, “the whole consumer journey, from initial contact to ownership, is intended to build trust” and said that a huge amount of research had gone into understanding the target audience for the vehicle and positioning it accordingly.